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Top 10 Signs You Are Living with a Threenager

We’ve all heard of the terrible two’s and all the drama of the new found independence of toddlers. But for some families the three’s can be even more challenging than the previous year. With our first daughter the age of three was a dream, but with our second we’ve discovered a new phase we’re not too pleased about, the threenager.

The threenager is that age when your three year old continually acts like they are going on 13. They have attitude for miles, a stubborn streak, and want what they want…when they want.

Top 10 Signs You Are Living with a Threenager

You live in constant fear of how to cut the shape of their sandwich or toast. Do they want triangles today, rectangles, squares? And when they do tell you, they change their mind right after you cut it.

They say things like (with hands firmly placed on hips), “I don’t want to clean up, I want to do what I want to do!”

You go through three or more wardrobe changes a day. Please just pick a princess already!

Your child goes boneless the second you remind them that a transition is coming, especially when they are asked to stop playing. BTW, when was this ability given to children? You know, lay limp and double your body weight so mom can’t move you. It’s a talent reminiscent of a possum playing dead…

They run away from you when it’s time to get dressed, or leave a play place, or do anything they deem unnecessary. In fact running away from you is their favorite activity. (Cardio workout?)

To nap or not to nap, that is the question. A threenager’s answer will always be emphatically “NO!” Unless of course it’s time for school, and they crawl into bed because they’re “tired”.

They want three of everything because they are three.

At red lights they yell…”Go…GOOO!” Threenagers do not possess patience.

Speaking of the car, you have to leave 10 minutes earlier so they can buckle their own car seat by their “OWN SELF!”

You realize they’ll be a great trial lawyer one day when they’ve just negotiated their way out of a timeout.

Threenagers can be tough to parent, make you weary, and zap you of all of your patience and energy. But on the flip side, this time can be so completely rewarding. As a threenager’s independence blooms so does their vocabulary, and you sometimes hear lovely things like, “You’re my best friend mommy, I love you soooo much, I want to keep you forever!” Yes a threenager may think you are their pet, but is there anything sweeter than a super tight toddler cuddle?

Looking for tips to tame your threenager? Here’s my follow up post Top 5 Tips for Coping with a Threenager! And don’t forget to follow on Facebook for more great parenting & sports stories, crafts and recipes!

Comments

OMG.. I am dreading the threenager time, since my daughter is not even two yet (bday is coming up in Feb) and she does ALL of this stuff!! (the car seat one made me laugh out loud… that is a daily battle. “I do it.. I do it”)

Aw, I miss age 3. My daughter turns 13 next month. Last week, she got her braces off. This week, she got her first period. Tuesday, I took her to the inauguration of the first female governor of our state, and her biggest comment on the way home was how cute the 13 yo boy sitting three rows in front of us was. Man, childhood passes quickly!

Enjoy those cuddly cheeks, those sometimes-naps, and having her with you all the time. As my grandmother used to say, “This too shall pass.” I wish it wouldn’t most days…

I just spit all my latte on my computer monitor… thank you! You are SO spot on – # 1, 4 and 8! I do walk around on egg shells at meal time – it’s worse than a horror movie when you hear their scream because you gave them milk in the wrong cup! Our three year old (who refuses to potty train) walks around in a diaper all day – I gave up on getting him dressed unless HAVE to leave the house. I love you for making me feel normal!

RIGHT?! What is it with the cup and plate color? IT TASTES THE SAME NO MATTER WHAT COLOR YOUR CUP IS PEOPLE!!! I thought of #11 too- when you have to ask your threenanger if you can ‘borrow’ your ipad back. SMH…You are MORE than normal…they are the cray ones!

They are all so different. My oldest was so easy going then hit 13 and I swear the DEVIL showed up in my house. Now at 17, I don’t want her to go to college IN SAN FRANCISCO!!!! We live in Chicago!!!! She is funny, thoughtful, interesting, loving and so on…… Now on the other hand the 12 y/o was the most annoying threenager!!!! I am hoping for an easy going teen!! Otherwise she will be moving to San Fran with her sister!!!! 🙂 Just saying….

Quinn is only 19 months but sheesh, these are looking like they are in my near future. Tonight she didn’t want any pajamas until it was her last set left. She was also mad that I gave her a banana broken in half. Oh and the “no bones” is an hourly occurrence here.

My daughter’s now 4 and she’s still in this stage. Or maybe it’s not a stage and her personality? I ask her to clean up toys and she either ignores me, directly says No, or complains that she never has fun! Then I mock her for her suffering. So maybe she’s just taking after me!

So, I’m just scrolling through my Facebook feed and see this on Huff Post Parents. I read through and laugh multiple times since my oldest just turned 4. And then what do I see but the author is someone I “know” from the blogging world. Congrats on the publication! You rock!

argh 4 1/2 months till 4 this is taking longer than pregnancey whats worse is i only have er 4 days a week because of shared care . i think this makes it harder with to mummys tow dads and two sets of rules

The more I read about “threenagers” the more I’m convinced my son became one at 13 months old. The only difference is being able to verbalize his anger over things like the banana he wanted cut up but didn’t want cut up but did want cut up.

Oh my gosh this is so true. I have a 3yr old daughter who is so Head strong. I am just waiting for 4….one more month to go. I hope to God it gets better. She’s only been awake 2hrs this morning and threw so many tantrums she lost Gymnastics and was put to bed by 8am. 🙁

Meet Kristen

Welcome! I'm a TV reporter and mom sharing our hectic life in sports and parenting, healthy mom hacks, a little encouragement, and some of my pro media tips. Be who you want to be, life's too short to pretend!

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